This was a fantastic element to this book, it had that historical fiction element that perfectly worked overall. The concept was everything that I was looking for and enjoyed how good the characters worked in this plot. Anita Abriel has a great writing style and I was glad I got to read this. Maggie was a great character to follow and enjoyed that she worked in the time-period.

Wow! This is an inside look into a celebrity life and the turmoil that surrounds it. Characters and storyline are spot on. Good read. Recommend. I was given an advanced reader copy of this book by NetGalley and I am freely sharing my review.

A heartwarming tale about a young woman navigating life, love, and success in the 1950s. American Housewife explores the shifting dynamics when one partner’s career surpasses the other’s. It raises the question of what it truly means for women to “have it all”—and if that’s even possible.

I enjoyed getting to know Maggie and watching her defy societal expectations by building her own career in the 1950s. Her relationship with Teddy stood out to me though, especially considering how unusual it was at the time for a woman to be more successful than her husband. While I was rooting for them, there were moments when I felt Maggie was doing too much for Teddy—she wasn’t just bringing home the bacon but also putting in too much effort to soothe his bruised ego. That’s why I knocked off a star.

Overall, this is a light summer read with just enough depth to make you think.

Thanks to @netgalley and @amazonpublishing for this advance reader’s copy in exchange for my honest review. These are my honest opinions.

American Housewife promised a compelling exploration of a 1950s housewife balancing career and domesticity. While the setting was charming, the execution fell short.
The juxtaposition of Maggie's glamorous TV persona and her personal struggles was intriguing at first. However, her hypocrisy in advising viewers while neglecting her own marriage felt contrived and inconsistent. The lack of internal conflict and a clear antagonist until late in the story hindered the narrative's momentum.
The supporting characters were underdeveloped and added little to the plot. The frequent shifts between past and present felt jarring and disrupted the pacing. While the cozy historical fiction setting was appealing, the shallow storyline and one-dimensional characters ultimately left me wanting more.
If you're seeking a light and enjoyable read, American Housewife might offer a pleasant escape. However, those looking for a deeply engaging and thought-provoking story may find themselves disappointed.

I was so excited to receive this as an e-ARC from the publisher over netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

2.5/5. I was very interested in this story after reading it’s synopsis. I love stories set in this time period.

This is a lighthearted historical fiction that explores a women’s struggle between focusing on her career or personal life. It was a decent story that was quick to get through. I liked that the story was told through multiple timelines as well as the aspects of television, radio and fame. I also feel like you can never go wrong with setting a story in New York.

However, I do wish the characters were developed more, especially the main character Maggie. I often struggled to care for her throughout the story. The majority of her hardships were solved too quickly. This barely gave me the opportunity to sympathize or empathize with her character. I would start to feel the slightest bit concerned for her and then a problem would quickly resolve without further discussion or explanation. I think this story was a little rushed and maybe would have benefited from higher stakes for our main character.

The story was decent, but not my favourite. If you’re looking for a quick, low stakes, light historical fiction this may be for you.

Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for the E-ARC.

This book is fantastic! I was immediately sucked into the story and didn’t want to put it down. I would say this is a nice, fairly short read. It is outside of my usual genres, but I enjoyed it a lot. There are mysteries throughout this story that keep you wanting to read as they slowly reveal themselves. What is Maggie’s big secret from her past that she fears sharing with her new husband? Where is Teddy going, what are his motives, and what happened to him during the war that’s left him unable to sleep peacefully? The author does a great job of telling the reader just enough to keep the plot moving forward without revealing so much that you guess the ending. I was shocked when Maggie’s past was fully explained. There are only 2 critiques I have. The first is that during one of Maggie’s flashbacks, the names of her current friends Dolly and Alan are mentioned, yet she wouldn’t have known them at that time. I may have been misreading how the line was intended, but I questioned if it was an oversight to have their names in that portion. The second is the ending itself. I personally liked the book less after finishing it. I thought the story was building to Maggie realizing her independence and power in it, but was left disappointed, and that’s all I can really say without giving up too much for future readers. I did not dock a star off my rating for it though, as many people will probably like how it wraps up. 
I will post my Goodreads review closer to the publishing date.

When I first looked at this book I wasn't sure I wanted to read it. It kept calling to me and I finally picked it up. What a story!
I loved all of the characters and the timeline too. It's a pretty fast paced novel that will melt your heart from the get go. I couldn't put Maggie and Teddy's story down. It was so good!
The cover is so adorable and that was one of the reasons I picked it up. I didn't want it to end but I knew it had to. By the time it was over my heart was left feeling full and satisfied,
There are places that will make you mad and some that will make you smile.
Secrets they're what make this story. They're what kept me turning the pages. Secrets don't stay hidden for long no matter what your station in life. Neither does jealousy but good always out weighs the bad.
5 stars from me for keeping my interest. I highly recommend.
My thanks for a copy of this book. I was NOT required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine.

I loved the cover of this novel, and the book also drew me in quite quickly.

Time goes by, but does it really change? This book was set in the 40s/50s, but women's problems, trying to "have it all," remain.

Maggie's career goes on a quick trajectory, with her marriage happening quickly as well.

The age old question, Can a woman have it all? I enjoyed this book. Seeing how the cooking shows, when it was a new medium, adds some interesting plot points and characters to the book

Thank you to Lake Union Publishing and Net Galley for a digital ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

At times too slow and at times too fast, the pacing of this novel was just off for me. Set in the 1950s, it follows Maggie and Teddy through their impromptu and then rocky marriage, but also follows them through the WW2 and just-post-war years in their individual backstories. Gender roles and stereotypes are addressed, and we get to see how 'the other half' lives in NYC during this era. There are a lot of secrets and half-truths, some religious discrimination common to the era, and a baking show reminiscent of modern-day ones. Overall, I enjoyed the book until the end...when it felt like there was a jump and everything was just tied up in a neat little implausible bow and shipped off to the publisher.

I continue to think Anita Abriel is the new Danielle Steel. American Housewife is a great story of women's empowerment at a time when most "housewives" were at home. Abriel aptly shows the marital struggles and how breaking societal norms isn't easy.

A very enjoyable read!

I had some fun with this book, especially in the beginning by getting to know the main character and her struggles and routine, but I gotta say: for such a short book (at least I consider it to be short) there were moments I thought the pacing was too slow and in other moments, too fast. The historical setting also didn't convince me that much sometimes...but maybe it's just me.
I am now considering my reading experience and probably I'm not the proper reader for this book.

American Housewive by new to me author Anita Abriel, published by Lake Union Publishing, is a historical fiction love story. Facettful, well written, a warm and beautiful story that gives all the feels.
Set in the 1950ties in the US tells the book the story of an up and coming tv star and her husband who feels he's left behind in a man ruled world that's a bitter pill to swallow. Intriguing, literally unputdownable, a slow burn.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ebook in exchange for an honest review.

I love it when a book just reels me in from the very first sentence, it’s so rare too. “There was no point in trying to explain her feelings, Teddy wouldn’t understand. How could he? He might be in love with her and want her to be happy, but he was a man.”

This was great, I love a kind of cozy, light novel set in the 1950s. The descriptions were immersive, so I did enjoy the whole book despite feeling it was quite slow, and repetitive at points. As well as slightly anticlimactic at the end, felt like we waited for the whole book and everything was resolved so easily. This could appeal to other readers I’m sure, but I felt a little disappointed. Still a good book, though.

Thank you for the advanced copy of American Housewife by Anita Abriel. I enjoyed reading American Housewife. It was a sweet and fun read. Ms Abriel had well developed characters and a rich storyline. There was suspense, courage, love, and dislike all rolled into a coming of age story for the main characters Maggie and Teddy. I would recommend this book! I gave it 4 stars.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was an okay book. I liked the theme of "can women have/do it all" because that is still prevalent today. I hated Teddy and felt like Maggie was a pushover but then again, that's what life was like in the 50s. The writing style was a little boring to me but the plot was good. I probably just wasn't the right demographic for this kind of book.

I need to preface this review with a couple of things: one, this book is a good read if you like lighter historical fiction pieces. Two, there definitely is an audience for American Housewife but unfortunately, I believe I fall outside of that demographic. Ultimately, I rated American Housewife 2.5/5 stars, but wish Abriel all the best on release day.

However, this would not be an honest review if I didn't explain my problems with this narrative. For starters, all of the underlying narrative arcs feel incredibly disjointed. Even once they all tie together, it unfortunately falls short - I think this is largely due to the incredibly low stakes of this piece. Maggie is given everything on a silver platter. Any genuine struggles she goes through as a protagonist are short-lived and resolved without consequence. At no point did I feel worried for Maggie, because the conflicts are set up in a way that suggests she'll come out entirely unscathed - which she does. The primary antagonist of American Housewife is unfortunately a walking stereotype of failing the Bechdel test, incredibly undynamic, and only emerged in the last ~40% of the book. The entire conflict of the book is tied up and resolved in a singular conversation between Maggie and her husband in the last ten minutes of the book, leaving an unsatisfying aftertaste.

While I can definitely see why people of more relaxed, straightforward narratives will appreciate Abriel's writing, the dialogue and scenes felt quite blocky and interrupted the reading experience for me. American Housewife fell short of my expectations, but I can understand and respect the angle it is written from. If you want a historical fiction that is more cozy and low stakes, I would full-heartedly recommend this book.

This was a pretty good book! I liked how it was set in the 1950s yet it still resonates with women today. Can women have it al? It is about the balancing act women have to do with work, friendships, kids, relationships, upkeep of the home, etc and what values matter to who and the perception of it all. It was a fast read, it was well written and I liked it!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for this complimentary ARC in exchange for an honest review!!

I really enjoyed this book. It was easy to read and I read it over the course of a few hours.

Despite the book being set in the 1940s/50s, the storyline is all too familiar in 2024. Can a woman have it all? What impact does a career have on a woman’s personal life? Should women give up their careers to have a family? Is it a problem if a woman earns more than her husband? These are all central questions in this book.

I enjoyed the flashback elements to explain Maggie’s backstory and I thought they were executed well, not too much to distract from the main storyline but enough to really understand the character and the choices she made.

I thought this novel was OK... but I'm still left with questions which weren't answered and the ending was just so implausible. When the story first began, it reminded me of Lessons in Chemistry but not as well executed, but I was intrigued to keep reading to see what happened as I really enjoy books set in this era as it makes you think about strong women and the challenges they've had.

The story tells of Maggie who has been offered her own TV show. As part of it, she has to sign a morality clause so to make sure that she doesn't have anything in her history which may impact upon her image. Meanwhile, her partner Teddy has stepped back on his career. Maggie seems compelled to help him as he seems to have demons from the war, but he just won't talk about it. As her TV show - which offers baking advice and life advice to housewives - takes off and Maggie becomes a household name, Teddy seems very happy to spend her money, to persuade her to buy a car, to keep pushing for more...

It's interesting to learn how Maggie gives advice to viewers yet doesn't take her own advice, to see the way she's trying her best but it doesn't seem to be enough and we also get to see what happened in her past which makes the morality clause she signed begin to be a bit tense...

But I just couldn't really like Maggie. I felt like she kept wanting to make Teddy be OK but allowed him to walk all over her. She never confronted him, never seemed to get angry or frustrated by how he was using her money. She was far too forgiving. I thought at the end she would find the strength to leave him, but no, instead she found the strength to FIGHT for him, yet I hadn't seen anything which was worth fighting for at all. So the ending didn't seem believable, especially the way in which she managed to get her past demons to go away - that really didn't seem at all plausible.

There were things which weren't ever addressed - her mother-in-law's art, the fact she could't cook or bake and that was never mentioned how she overcame it or if it held her back, her secret about needing glasses...

So this is quite a readable, enjoyable story to read, but could just have been improved a bit more with some more ends tied up and maybe making Teddy come across as actually LOVING towards her at some point at all in the story.

Set on the 50's this a fabulous tale of Maggie. She is a TV host, endearing herself as the all American perfect housewife.

Her husband however is a little sick and tired of it all and the marriage is rocky.

Secrets and lies enter the game and this novel tells of the stress and strains of maggie and her husband.

I loved this book. It has a stepford wife quality about it and I think it's just brilliant.